Hi! I am new here and am in need of support! I have recently started taking an appetite suppressant as I am at my wits end with my weight! I can't stand being fat anymore. I have been struggling with my weight for the last 10 years and I am sick of it! I am going to succeed this time. I am a registered nurse who has been married to my DH for 10 years and have 4 wonderful kids. If anyone here has experience with medication for weight loss, could you please spare some advice?
Thank You!
Jennifer (F,30)

Im not sure about what your taking but the only thing I can think of when that comes to mind is that if a pill did it everyone would be thin.
After many years of trying pills. I gave up because I kept looking for to much in those little pills and all they did was give me false hope.
I didnt rely on myself as I should have.
If its doctor prescribe maybe you have other medical conditions that would support them subscribing them.
Hopefully someone else can give you some better insight on that area.
But its good to know that you understand that you need to make more healthy choices in your life. Welcome and glad to meet ya.


Cindy

Hi Jennifer~
I think I have taken most of the over the counter stuff.. never anything prescription.. I know that nothing works for me though unless I cut what I eat and excersize more! Bottom line.. I can take any fat blaster, fat trapper, energizer on the market and it's not going to help if I eat cheesecake and cookies! I'm hoping someone will come along soon with some real experience with script appetizer suppresants for you.. I know nothing I've ever been able to take has lasted very long without my willingness to change the way I eat.. I do want to welcome you to the board!! There is some really valuable information on this site.. Make sure to prowl around and read up! Also some great support! Again.. welcome! Dona

Welcome!

I'm also an RN. The only pills I've tried (in the past) are Dexatrim and a knock off Metabolife (((((shudder)))). I felt like a tweeked out drug addict, LOL. I'm doing calorie counting now. And have had good success with Weight Watchers in the past.

I hope you find success and the support you need here.

I totally agree. I do not recommend taking any pills for weight loss, as their benefits seem to be very little, but the side effects are sometimes NOT so little.
The bottom line is eating a reduced calorie diet, and exercise.
If feeling hungry is a problem, there are other solutions to that besides an appetite suppressant-such as eating some bulkier low calorie foods with your meals to help you feel fuller.
An example here is the newly popular "100 Calorie Packs" of little crackers or sweets, if you pour them out into your hand, they are barely a handful. You can eat 2 cups of strawberries for 90 calories, or 2 cups of watermelon for 100 calories-it is healthier, and you will be much fuller afterwards!

Thanks for the replies! I should have stated however, that I am on a reduced calorie diet as well. I have also started exercising which is something that I haven't done in a long time. I should have known I would get some flack about the appetite supressants, though. But you know what? My every waking thought isn't about food anymore. Thank God! So, if it will work for me then GREAT! Again thank you for the replies, I look forward to chatting with you!

Jennifer

just becareful with those diet pills, they will backfire.....lol Just eat right and be activity.

I don't know if anyone remembers this or not, but the original form of Dexatrim (and its generic same active ingedient counterparts) was taken off the market a few years ago, due to some deaths that occured. It was a year or so before Dexatrim and generics using the same ingredient returned to the market, with all new ingredients.
Recently everyone has probably noticed that a lot of diet pills are changing their formulas to no longer include ephedrine-this is also because of health effects that have been reported. In my area, there are limits that the cashier can sell to someone of products that include it.
I personally tried a product with ephedrine when I was about 20 years old-no way. It was the longest day of my life, waiting for the side effects of that pill to wear off. I was jittery, had a pounding heart, and I felt like I was going to throw up. The thing is, you never know who is going to be able to take them for an extended period of time and handle it, who is going to have side effects and issues pop up in a couple of months (there was an original Dexatrim user who died after being a consistent user for some time) and who will have a bad reaction immediately, like myself.
Even prescription pills have side effects-Xenical causes the excess fat it is blocking you body from digesting, to sometimes "leak" out into your underwear. Other diet prescriptions are simply legal speed. Others can have side effects on your blood pressure.
I choose not to take anything, simply because I am not losing weight to get "skinny", I am losing weight because I want to be healthy. (I also have other practices such as eating organic foods, and taking vitamins and such that are healthful lifestyle changes that have nothing to do with my weight loss goals)
So, anyone taking any sort of pill-please be careful-prescription or OTC.

My point was simply that if you are careful and informed, pills can help you start. You don't have to want to be "skinny," but taking a suppressant to help you curb your urges to indulge or even binge can help you to get healthy. Most also say right on the box/bottle not to take them for an extended period of time (the ones I have ever used say not to use for more than 6 weeks, I believe). However, in even 6 weeks time (or less), your body can adjust to the new amount of fuel it is taking in, thus decreasing appetite even after you have gone off the pill. I really wasn't saying it was the greatest idea ever and that everyone should do it Just that if you are responsible about it (i.e., follow the directions closely, are informed of possible side effects, keep a close eye on your health--like I mentioned checking your blood pressure, etc.), they can be a helpful tool for some people in beginning the weight loss battle

I have never taken anything with ephedra (thank goodness), but my roommate in college did, and she didn't actually get shakey or jittery, just had a ton of energy (she would clean the apartment top to bottom every day ). Everyone reacts to things differently, and there are bound to be those who will have a negative reaction. Heck, look at how popular Splenda is, and yet some people have horrible adverse reactions to it. Just be very responsible and pay very close attention to your body

I actually am currently taking Trim Spa and I love it. I've used it several times in the past. A couple of years ago I went from 168 to 139 in about two months with the help of Trim Spa. And everytime I've actually used it it helps me lose. My only problem is consistency in taking it. I haven't been really serious about dieting except for that time and now (I used my first year of law school as an excuse to literally eat junk almost every day as well as studying for the LSAT etc), which is why I ended up at this horrible weight again. Of course as you've acknowledged and others have pointed out, it's all about the calorie cutting and exercise which you are obviously doing. It's just that Trim Spa seriously gives you the edge. It really cuts your appetite, and also I think it does something with my metabolism for sure because I seem to need to (ahem) go to the bathroom more often and sooner after I eat. Also, even though it doesn't have ephedra, it gives me more energy to work out. My friend asked me about it and I told her I loved it (she sees results when I using it) and she started using it a couple weeks ago. Last weekend she told me she loved it, that it totally cut her appetite.

One thing, I don't know about other's experiences but I was persuaded by the techno music commercial for Zantrex-3 to try the strongest weight loss drug (by their claims). I tried it and it made me wayyy jittery I didn't feel like I lost a lot, I had trouble sleeping and one day at work I just broke out in a head to toe bright red rash and felt like I was burning inside. I threw them all away after that.

So go for it girl!!

As, I am a R.N. I am COMPLETELY aware of any adverse side effects of ANY prescription drug. The appetite suppressants that I am taking are a prescription, prescribed to me by my doctor. And NO, I do not think they are a miracle pills. I will however, say that they do take the edge off. My every constant thought isn't about food, and because of that, I can see the light at the end of this awful tunnel of OBESITY. Obesity which in fact, has many, many more side effects that scare me more than a supervised drug regime- such as hypertension, cardiac disease, diabetes etc. So, again, Jillybean I appreciate your support- I am sure we'll talk later!


Jennifer

Just thought I'd chime in here and make an official statement that we do not support the use of OTC diet pills here, including TrimSpa. Sorry!

We DO support prescription diet medications, such as those Chamie is taking, because prescription medications are backed by legitimate research and their usage is monitored by a physician. OTC diet pills, on the other hand, are potentially dangerous, the claims they make are almost always false, and they simply do not promote long term weight loss. Your health is important, and monitoring by a physician is crucial, and OTC pills cannot provide that. We have a lot of members here that have tried them at various times, based on their glossy advertisements, but these members are still here because they learned the hard way that they needed to just diet and exercise. We've also heard from many women that were hospitalized or suffered long term permanent health problems due to OTC diet pills.

We try to promote weight loss through a healthy diet and exercise program. As Morticia pointed out, if those things worked, we wouldn't be an obese nation.

Unfortunately, I can't share any experience that Chamie requested in the original post. I've never taken prescription diet pills because I already have heart disease and felt it was best not to push my luck. But we do have quite a few members here that take Meridia or other prescriptions, so hopefully someone will post and share any advice, precautions, and/or success stories

Good luck!

Thanks Suzanne!
I don't want anyone here to feel that I was Knocking them for trying to lose weight by WHATEVER method. I do however, believe that physcian aided weight loss is the way to go with any weight loss regime, prescription drugs or NOT. ANY attempt at weight loss is definitely a step in the right direction.

On a side note- there are many, many, OTC products NOT including diet pills that can be very dangerous. Herbs and "ALL NATURAL" products top the list. Currently the FDA doesn't regulate the sales/supply of these products so they are obviously readily available. There are probally many people here who are taking these products thinking that they are leading a healthy lifestyle only to be jeopardizing their own health.

I respect that this site does not promote the use of OTC medications and I understand why. But I just wanted to point out that just because there has been research on something for a long time, that does not necessarily mean it is safe...as evidenced by recent developments in Vioxx, the recall of drugs such as Redux and Propolsid and the extreme case of Phen-fen. And even though those medications were monitored by doctors people still were seriously injured or killed from the side effects anyway.

Many times, the reason that a drug is allowed to be OTC instead of prescription is because it does not have such powerful ingredients in it to warrant such care (before I get jumped on, I"m not saying that's true in all cases). I have researched the ingredients in the OTC pill I use and none of them are powerful ingredients, just things like green tea and the like which seems to be promoted a lot!

I myself would never be able to get a prescription from a doctor for a weight loss drug as I'm never actually considered overweight and I'm in really great health, great blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. But when I start dieting, I need help sometimes getting my body into the "mode". Once my body has acclimatized to the lower amounts of calorie intake I am not dependent on them at all. And I do lose weight the hard way as well, through serious, and healthy dieting and serious and healthy exercising. Those are my claims to success, not the OTC pills.

I'm kind of suprised because I thought that this site was to be more about support and helping each other out for information but it kind of seems like people jumped on Chamie for even asking the appetite-suppresant question and others for offering their experiences.